It is not enough to take up lance
and shield, and to place a red cross upon the shoulder. Those who desire
to fight the battle of the Lord must cleanse their hearts, and go forth
in the spirit of pilgrims rather than knights. I mean not that they
should trust wholly to spiritual weapons--for in truth the infidel is a
foe not to be despised--but I mean that they should lay aside all
thoughts of worldly glory and rivalry one against another."
"And think you, Father, that such is the spirit with which King Richard
and the other kings and nobles now preparing to go to the Holy Land are
animated?"
Father Francis hesitated.
"It is not for me, my son, to judge motives, or to speak well or ill of
the instruments who have been chosen for this great work. It is of all
works the most praiseworthy, most holy. It is horrible to think that the
holy shrines of Jerusalem should be in the hands of men who believe not
in our Redeemer; and I hold it to be the duty of every man who can bear
arms, no matter what his rank or his station, to don his armor and to go
forth to battle in the cause.
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